Best Places99517, AK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 99517, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
99517 ranks 4,232nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 99517
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
99517's strengths and weaknesses
Where 99517 ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Short commute16.4 minutes each way, better than 95% of zip codes
Where 99517 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,590 a month, better than only 4% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 99517
A household needs to earn about $112,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 99517 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $116,062, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 99517's effective rate of 1.35%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 99517
99517's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 99517.
Who works in 99517, and how
Work in 99517 centers on health care & social and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment sits above the national rate.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 99517
99517 has more parkland per resident than 88% of zip codes. The coast is about 2 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 99517 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 99517, month by month
99517 sees roughly 143 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 69 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs June through August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 19° | 11° |
| April | 47° | 38° | 28° |
| July | 69° | 61° | 54° |
| October | 45° | 38° | 32° |
Flying in and out of 99517
Ted Stevens Anchorage International sits about 2 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 2.6 million passengers in 2025, with 71 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 99517
Schools across 99517 average a C, better than 33% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Aquarian Charter SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Inlet View ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Turnagain ElementaryB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Romig Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- West High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 99517 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
99517 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 99517 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 99517
Is 99517 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 99517 ranks 4,232nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low taxes, heat safety, and clean air, and lowest on childcare costs and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 99517 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $399,120. The overall cost of living runs about 15% above the national average. Set against a $116,062 median income, cost of living beats 79% of zip codes.
Is 99517 safe?
99517 is safer than 19% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $783 per resident a year.
Compare 99517 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 99517. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 99517 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
99517 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 99517: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 99517: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 99517: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 99517: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
99517 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.